besmirch

Steele doesn’t besmirch the data that punishes his Redhawks, but he also says “there’s something to winning.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

Former treasurer and ex-ambassador to the US Joe Hockey was among those calling for the MP to be identified, on the basis that not doing so would "besmirch" all politicians.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2024

Citing this isn’t meant to besmirch Lear’s legacy but, rather, to highlight his flaws as a part of his evolution.

From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2023

“And it would really besmirch the reputation of the Academies, which I felt strongly about defending.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2023

But it was another example of both the lack of knowledge about South Africa in the rest of Africa and the extraordinary lengths the PAC would go to besmirch the ANC.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

"Behaviour like that, whether it's at an Old Firm match or any other football match, besmirches that, and it should absolutely be seen as unacceptable."

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2022

“All the evidence of the fancy suits really is irrelevant and besmirches the defendant.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2018

Mud besmirches his van’s tiny, neat living space.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 6, 2018

It is unfortunate that this Times article indirectly besmirches the Yankees.

From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2017

But in one way or another, justice demands that the slanderer contradict his lying imputations and remove by so doing the stain that besmirches the character of his victim.

From Explanation of Catholic Morals A Concise, Reasoned, and Popular Exposition of Catholic Morals by Stapleton, John H. (John Henry)

“New banks didn’t even call themselves banks and instead used the expression caisses, meaning ‘deposits,’ so besmirched was the banking industry’s reputation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

Whitfield, who is biracial, claimed that Hassan’s comments about how she got the job on the show besmirched her merits, something that Black women often have to deal with in the workforce.

From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2025

Their besmirched clothes, blistered feet and cracked lips attested to the ordeal of the nine-day trek, but they still danced and jumped to celebrate their accomplishment.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2023

Securities and Exchange Commission, had wrongly besmirched Hindenburg’s “well-deserved reputation for thoroughness, precision and accuracy.”

From Reuters ● Feb. 2, 2023

Was there any kind of filth with which he had not besmirched himself, any sin and folly which he had not committed, any stain upon his soul for which he alone had not been responsible?

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse

Yet having that knowledge somehow doesn't assuage the anxiety that strikes the moment I see a ring of oil-slicked curry from the pot lid besmirching my flawless countertop.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2023

The businesses declared themselves outraged by the government besmirching their reputation.

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2023

“She’s calling everyone I know and besmirching my name,” he added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2022

Holmes ought to be ashamed of besmirching the fine reputation many of us have worked to build.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2022

He could neither conjecture how it was made nor explain the attendant circumstances—the strangely torn clothing, the parted belt, the besmirching of the white skin.

From The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce — Volume 2: In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians by Bierce, Ambrose